Is that a banana in your pocket or you just happy it's Halloween?

Missing Grampy and Grammy

It's hard to believe that it has been a week since my parents came to visit. We all had a blast, and their long weekend passed far too quickly. Surprise! Surprise! Here are a couple of the best shots from their trip. Thank goodness we don't have to miss them for long. Normy and I are going to Florida for almost two weeks in December and Smoochy will be joining us for our last long weekend there. The next two months are going to FLY!!!

At the Zoo

More zoo

Love Grammy!

Grampy and Normy read

Normy Here

"Hey everyone! Did you know door frames could be so comfortable? Me neither!!!"

"Mom, When was the last time you mopped?"

"Hey Jack! Quit looking at me like that!"

For Grampy and Uncle Zach

Look, I really am pregnant!

20 Weeks preggers.
Normy and New Baby!

I wrote about my dream homebirth here.

Have You Hugged Your Midwife Today?

Happy National Midwifery Week Everyone!
I'll be posting over at Birth is Good all week to celebrate!

I have only myself to blame...

Okay, the previous two pictures were staged. But only after I found my knitting in shambles. I was cleaning up after our healthy breakfast of organic vanilla toaster waffles (snort) when I turned off the faucet and hear the distinct cllick clank clicklittie click of my knitting needles. Oh crap. I ran in to the living room where I found my knitting sack pulled out from behind the couch were it was hidden. My practice-knitting was quickly unraveling and my working yarn had been unwound by the yard. Great hiding place, Mom. I probably would have been devastated had this been an actual project. Thank goodness right now I'm just learning.

I've been getting tremendous joy from knitting the last couple weeks. Well, joy and a hint of frustration. When my Aunt Em visited a couple weeks back she got me started. She is a consummate knitter. After 40+ years of practice she's got it down. I asked how she got started and she laughed, "Well if I wanted a sweater, it was the only way I was going to get one." She and my father were two of EIGHT kids. Plus, she told me she remembers her own mother being quite the crocheter. (Her mother died when she and my dad were very young.) Further, her stepmother (the only paternal grandmother I have ever known, and loved. Hi Granny!) is an excellent knitter as well, and passed the craft down to her. I love the thought of being a part of a handed-down craft!

Anyway, the truth is, knitting has been slow going for me. Though I do have a crafty streak, I have trouble visualizing the physics of things. And it has taken me weeks to grasp the concept of linking loop to loop to create stitches. Actually, learning to cast on was a particular nightmare fore me.

My Aunt Em had worked with me to teach me how to cast on. But, we didn't cover that as thoroughly as knitting and purling. She had me started with some practice knitting but after a week of split stitches, dropped stitches, and a million other mistakes I found the whole mess unworkable and wanted to start again. I scrapped the whole think and spent a WEEK trying to figure out how to cast on. I watched videos on this helpful site. I read the instruction book my Aunt left. And every night I made slip knot after slip knot, only to get hosed by the second stitch.

I was at my wits end when finally my darling husband asked, "Can I try?" I was so frustrated by that point I just huffed, passed him the needles and said, "Good luck." Smoochy read the instructions, watched the video twice, grasped the needles and went loop loop loop. He had cast on. I was stunned, impressed, and heart broken. I burst into tears. After the waves of tears and laughter finally subsided he showed me where I was going wrong, and I was back on track. However, still totally humiliated!

Though I am obviously not a knitting natural like he is, I am completely absorbed and happy with needles in my hand. This of course has been to the detriment of my blogging. But, for now that's Okay. I am excited to have a newly developing skill and hopefully a calming and enjoyable early labor project. Plus, this weekend I am taking a knitting class at the local yarn boutique. Look how freaking cute this shop is! If any one wants to join me, I'll be at String of Purls Saturday morning in Omaha!

Aunt Em shows me the basics